Just when we thought the first season of The White Lotus couldn’t be outdone, season two has delivered plenty of spicy Sicilian drama and intrigue — not to mention a thoroughly meme-able theme song we can't get out of our heads.
In case you're new to the series, The White Lotus season two follows a set of ultra-wealthy vacationers at a bougie resort (The White Lotus) in stunning Sicily. In the premiere episode, we meet beautiful but often flawed and problematic characters from all walks of life. This includes the flirtatious local hotel staff and the out-of-touch guests who arrive to the villa with their fair share of emotional and literal baggage. But before we get to peek into their vacation, we learn from the opening scene of episode one that several people will die by the end of the week-long trip. Ooh, the shock and horror!
What makes The White Lotus so dang addictive is not only the voyeuristic peek into the lives of the rich and relaxed, but also the whodunnit crime element that has us scratching our heads trying to solve the mystery before we get answers in the finale (which BTW, premieres this weekend on HBOMax).
Amongst beautiful Italian backdrops and the chaos of interweaving plot points and vacation hookups, creator Mike White offers a breadcrumb of clues to help us piece together who won't make it out of Sicily. Hidden easter eggs that appear through decorative Italian art pieces and brief one-liners throughout the season could hold great meaning for the plot— though, us watchers are easily distracted by the lavish coastal life the characters are immersed in.
Infidelity is presented as a strong central theme for season two, so we can safely assume that is what drives the deaths… or can we? Here, we’ll dive into some of our predictions for the ending of the season, as well as present some convincing fan theories that could develop. Past this point, you’ll read SPOILER ALERTS, so if you don’t want the story revealed, you’ll just have to watch and theorize for yourself.
The White Lotus Fan Theory #1: Lucia and Albie
Photograph by Fabio Lovino/HBO
Let's start with Lucia, played by the stunning Simona Tabasco. As a local sex worker, Lucia targets visitors of The White Lotus for easy business. As savvy and persuasive as she is, it's no surprise she becomes entangled with numerous guests throughout their stay. Most jaw-dropping is her dalliance jump from Dominic Di Grasso, a middle-aged American guest seeking distraction from his pending divorce (played by The Sopranos star Michael Imperioli) to a sudden interest in his son, Albie (played by Adam DiMarco). While Lucia's relationship with Dominic is very clearly a transaction fling with an expiration date, the lines become blurred with nice-guy Albie, who takes a quick liking to Lucia and doesn't realize he's hooking up with someone who expects to be paid for their time with clients. Albie isn't the only one who owes Lucia payment from the week, which puts some stress on Lucia's relationship with her boss.
And this is wherein the problem lies, my friend. Lucia is short on cash. Her boss is pissed and showing up all over Sicily in a threatening way, which Albie takes note of. Is Lucia staging intense standoffs in an effort to make up for the unpaid bills? Could this put Albie and his family in harm's way and potentially bring them to an end? Or will Albie indulge in his own pride of protecting his "wounded bird" and end up killing Lucia's boss in a moment of uncontrollable violence? One possibility could be that Lucia falls victim to the end-of-season death because she hasn't received all of her payments from the week and her boss grows impatient.
I for one am ready to find out if Lucia's been stringing Albie along this whole time to get a free ticket to California — where the Di Grasso's are from — because she's clearly seeking an off ramp from her current situation in Italy.
The White Lotus Fan Theory #2: Harper, Ethan, Cameron and Daphne
Photograph by Fabio Lovino/HBO
Name a more problematic foursome, we'll wait. Side note — can you imagine a dinner party with the likes of Harper (played by Aubrey Plaza), Ethan (Will Sharpe), Cameron (Theo James) and Daphne (Meghann Fahy)? Truly a nightmare group to hang out with, IMHO. The sexual tension and underlying hatred is A LOT to handle.
Anyway, our first prediction for this crew: Despite Harper’s bad attitude for the whole trip to Sicily and contempt for her husband, Ethan, she takes an interest in Cameron, Ethan’s not-so-great college buddy. Ethan suspects that Harper and Cameron have something going on, and in a spiral of jealousy and fears of an affair, he could lash out in a fit of rage and kill Cameron. This TikTok theory suggests that the heavy symbolism of birds throughout their scenes reveals exactly what will take place.
Secondly, it’s possible that the affluent pair (Cameron and Daphne) could be putting on a front when they’re around Harper and Ethan to purposely reveal the weaknesses in their relationship. Plus, there’s already some standing competition between Ethan and Cameron so this act could also spark a bro-fight that ends in trouble.
The White Lotus Fan Theory #3: Portia and Jack
Photograph by Courtesy of HBO
Oh, these two. Portia (played by Haley Lu Richardson) is a directionless Gen Zer woefully unappreciative of this once-in-a-lifetime trip she's been brought on (for free) to support her boss Tanya (Jennifer Coolidge's character). Algorithm-informed fashion choices aside, Portia's central plot point begins when she scoffs at Albie's attempts to court her because he's simply too dull. Enter Jack, the bad boy from Essex who sweeps her off her feet. Clearly the girl's never seen Love Island because everyone knows boys from Essex are TROUBLE. I digress.
As time passes, it becomes clear that Jack's role may be to distract Portia from whatever scheme European aristocrat Quentin has been cooking up to dethrone Tanya — or at the very least to get her money. It's clear that Jack is lying to Portia, based on other scenes we've seen. (Cough, cough: Quentin's definitely not his uncle!) This facade could potentially put Portia in danger. We predict that something could happen to Portia as collateral to cover for whatever Tanya gets involuntarily involved in. And Jack could be on the chopping block as well and go overboard once Quentin's scheme has come to fruition and played out.
The White Lotus Fan Theory #4: Quentin, Tanya and Greg
Photograph by Courtesy of HBO
Tanya and Greg (Jon Gries) are the lone return characters from The White Lotus Season 1 we know and love (or love to hate). We know that Greg is pretty unhappy in his marriage to Tanya. We also know that their marriage terms came hand-in-hand with a sizable prenup, which can't be voided unless Tanya breaks certain clauses... or is unfaithful. This all sets the stage for a sweeping scheme wherein Greg is in cahoots with Quentin and purposefully sets Tanya up to cheat (or worse) at a wild, coke-filled party in Palermo.
This fan theory talks in depth about several Greg easter eggs from season one that could tie into Tanya’s potential demise. Plus, Quentin could be expecting a cut of the wealth according to what Jack reveals to Portia in a drunken stupor, about him "coming into money." While we can't imagine the series to continue on without Tanya's effervescent eccentricities — all signs point to she may be on the chopping block this season.
Are you watching The White Lotus? Slide into our DMs on Instagram with your fan theories ahead of the Sunday, December 11 finale.
Lead Photograph by Fabio Lovino/HBO.
